Note: This post is a part of our “Social Media Done Right” (SMDR) Series. You can check out our previous post on Dell here. You can follow me on on Twitter at @i_shank or Fastgush at @fastgush.
Here’s an interesting fact: Coca-Cola’s Facebook Page was in fact created by two hardcore fans Dusty and Michael after they failed to find one that felt official enough, so they set out to create their own. Soon after, Facebook changed the rules which meant either the Page had to be closed or handed over to Coca-Cola. The soft drink brand instead of booting the creators flew them to the Atlanta headquarters and decided to work with them. Rest they say is history.
Though Coca-Cola made a late entry to social media party and failed to tap into the initial buzz of the medium, it has managed to fuel its growth by being creative. The company’s mission statement “Content 2020” relies heavily on creative content sourced from fans on Facebook and Twitter, and working directly with artists and the music and film industry to create content through storytelling. The post tries to unravel some of the strategies adopted on its Facebook account and highlight those that are unique.
To begin with, the company has a massive presence on Facebook, with number of fans now totaling 36 million and increasing every month at a rate of 3 percent.
Its marketing campaign unlike other brands rides primarily on human emotional quotient, the evidence of which can be first seen on its landing Page. At this very moment, the company has crafted a new landing Page that covers its recent feel good TV advert, information about Dusty and Michael; and selected Photos from its fans.
The design exudes positivism and lures people into Liking the page. And unlike most other brands who forget to update their landing page once it’s been designed, Coca-Cola refurbishes its landing page design every now and then based on its current activity. Every new design gives users a peek of what’s in store on their account.
When you jump onto the Wall, you’ll notice something very peculiar. The brand adopts “Everyone” tab instead of “Coca-Cola” tab for the latest posts.
Why would the company risk putting itself into the firing zone by allowing posts from fans that may sometimes be insensitive towards the company?
It’s part of its strategy to let fans express themselves freely and allow the community to police the content. Up until this point, it has worked remarkably well for the brand and without any doubts will continue to augur well in the future.
Now on a different note, many would argue if it’s wise of you to create different Pages for each of your products, but think for a while — if the product is as wildly popular as Diet Coke, it undeniably needs special attention. Fans of these specialized products tend to be different and associate themselves closely with the product unlike their counterparts on company’s page. Case in point: you’ll find a lot more “I love Diet Coke” messages on the Diet Coke’s Wall as compared to “I love Coca-Cola” on Coca-Cola’s Wall.
It’s just the justification of the fact that people love to be associated with products and not brands — as simple as that. Give them their space and they are willing to go the distance. One crazy fan has even posted a picture of Diet-Coke tattooed on his arm.
What also differentiates Coca-Cola from its peers is the sheer number of apps they use – 25 and counting. Meanwhile, its rival Pepsi has a flimsy 5 applications to its credit. The number also beats that of other major brands like Walmart and Disney with both accounting less than five apps on their respective Pages.
Also, while browsing through their Videos tab, I noticed a distinctive feature: there are tonnes of videos to watch; and every video features only one person in it. Closer inspection reveals that videos either reflect a person’s personality or includes one’s experience about an event. This is just an example of Content 2020 that I had earlier mentioned.
On its wall, the company often posts one-liners like “When you look around, where do you see Coca-Cola?“and “The perfect way to serve Coca-Cola is with a smile.” Interestingly, these updates generate twice or thrice the amount of Likes and Comments when compared to posts that share a picture or a video — quite contrary to what many believe. May be, it’s time to dump that belief. Pictures and Videos are failing to generate the level of engagement one expects from them.
To sum it up, Jonathan Poston, a social media blogger in his article writes, “The alchemy behind Coca-Cola’s silver tongue transformation seems to be that they’ve backed off from the controls and let fans define and drive the brand on Facebook.”
Michael Jedrzejewski, the guy who created the Page shares the same opinion, “Letting fans be fans on Facebook, instead of turning the page into a corporate mouthpiece, has paid off, People are savvy enough to know when a Facebook page is contrived and manufactured”, he notes.
So how does Coca-Cola view its 36 million strong fans?
In an interview to Harvard Business Review, President and CEO Muhtar Kent outlines their value. “The value is you can talk with them. They tell you things that are important for your business and brands. Today consumers are buying products not just for the quality but also because they believe in the character of the companies that produce those products.” he says.
The aforementioned mission “Content 2020″ is what’s driving the strategy on social media. Coca Cola have always been at the forefront of innovation. In these videos Jonathan Mildenhall, Vice-President, Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence at The Coca-Cola Company explains the concept of “Content 2020″
Second video
Campaigns
You don’t get millions of fans unless you run strategic campaigns to attract users. Innovation and creativity are two most important factors of any Facebook campaign and two of the most successful campaigns run by the company have been highlighted below:
#1. “Expedition 206″ Campaign
This is perhaps the first major campaign undertaken by the company after its entered into the social media space. It featured three young people who spent 2010 criss-crossing the globe on a quest to find what makes people happy. The ultimate aim was to involve Facebook users to interact with the brand and spend time on their Page.
#2. “Share A Coke” Campaign
The campaign that’s running currently allows fans to have their names appear on Coke bottles, and up until now 150 names have been voted by its community. It’s been reported that due to the tremendous response from its fans, the company has planned to include more names. They have also had a team of songwriters record 150 individual songs – one for each name.
